Compassion Fatigue of Caregivers

Compassion Fatigue of Caregivers

Wendy Greenspan, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNE, Assistant Professor, Nursing

wgreensp@sunyrockland.edu, 845-574-4313

Intended Audience: Caregivers

Abstract: The stress of care giving to stroke survivors and other people with chronic illness relates to the caregiver’s experience of illness. Family caregivers provide unpaid assistance to family members with related health problems. Informal caregivers assist family members with activities of daily functioning such as bathing, dressing, and toileting because chronic illnesses such as stroke related problems often impair physical, cognitive, or emotional functioning. Caring for a physically disabled or ill relative can be physically and emotionally stressful, which places the caregiver at increased risk for physical ailments, depression, and anxiety. Caregivers are sometimes identified as hidden patients because they are prone to physical and mental health disorders. When caregivers become ill it limits their ability to provide optimal care.

About the Speaker: Wendy Greenspan, Assistant Professor of Nursing, has been teaching at RCC since 2003. Prior to coming to the College, she was a nursing staff development instructor at Nyack Hospital, and a registered staff nurse at Nyack Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, and New York Presbyterian Hospital. She earned an AS in Nursing from Rockland Community College; BSN from Dominican College, Orangeburg, NY; and an MSN in Nursing Education from Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY.